Dean A. Nakano, Deputy Manager & Chief Engineer

DEAN A. NAKANO
Deputy Manager and Chief Engineer, Honolulu Board of Water Supply

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Dean A. Nakano previously served as Acting Deputy Director for the Commission on Water Resource Management (Commission).  The Commission, which is attached to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, has exclusive jurisdiction and final authority in all matters relating to implementation and administration of the State Water Code, Chapter 174C, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Mr. Nakano oversaw the operation and functions of the Commission staff who have statewide responsibilities for the protection and management of our State's water resources.

Previously, Mr. Nakano served as the Hydrologic Planning Program Manager for the Commission and was responsible for the overall management of the Branch, coordinating and directing the development of plans, studies and scientific investigations involving assessments of water supplies and demand, instream uses of water, including biological, ecological, aesthetic, recreational and hydrological aspects of Hawaiian stream systems; establishing and maintaining interagency coordination between federal, state, and county governments and the private sector; and providing planning-related oversight in processing permits and the setting of instream flow standards to protect beneficial instream uses of water as provided by law.

Mr. Nakano is a graduate of University Laboratory School and the University of Hawaii, at Manoa, and has a degree in Geology.  Mr. Nakano has been with the Commission since its onset, taking a brief leave of absence to serve as the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism's State Geothermal Project Manager from 1992 to 1996, before returning to the Commission.  With the Commission, Mr. Nakano first served as a Geologist, then a Hydrologist VI, before settling in as the Commission's Hydrologic Planning Program Manager.  Mr. Nakano has served in the capacity of the Acting Deputy Director for the Commission since February 2005, and also served a short stint as interim Deputy Director for the Commission in 2003.

Mr. Nakano brings a wide range of knowledge in water resource issues and long-range planning.  He has been instrumental in the formulation and implementation of comprehensive statewide plans that provide for the conservation, protection and regulation of the State's water resources.  These component plans constitute the Hawaii Water Plan and serves as a long-range guide for water resource management consisting of eight (8) integral parts addressing such issues as water supply and demand, resource sustainability and protection, water quality, drought management and water conservation plans.